You May Play the Divine Move
by Shizuka Sen
Summary: Just say the entire thing, please' he mentally begged. 'That way I’ll know what I’m facing and it will be just like another game. Then, I’ll only think of the game and find a way to win. Now, if you could just tell me who my opponent is, we could begin.'
1. Chapter 1

_You May Play the Divine Move_

Author's Initial Notes: This is a thing where I'm just trying to get my ideas about some difficult topics for me (that I have to think about at some point) to be just a bit more understandable to me. At times, this story will have slight angst. Just warning you – and myself, I suppose – now. Oh, yes, one more thing – this takes place a few months after the anime series (and may work after the manga as well, I don't know).

Two fifteen-year-olds were shouting at each other – _again_ – in a Go salon near a train station.

"I did _not_ say, 'Oh, I see,' ten times!" Touya Akira, a three-dan, yelled at the top of his voice.

"That's right – you said it eleven!" Shindou Hikaru, still a shodan but who was just as good, shouted back.

"Well, _you_ missed this painfully obvious life-and-death problem here!" Akira exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the Go board that was sitting on the table in front of them. "And I only said that _three _times! You said it at least _six_!"

"_Six_? I did NOT! What about _this_, right here?" Hikaru demanded, pointing toward the lower-right corner. "You missed the–"

"I saw that, it was just better to go here!" shouted Akira.

"Is not! This shape'll die then!"

"No, actually," Akira said, suddenly much calmer. He placed a stone on the board. "Look, if white goes here…."

"Oh, I see…."

"HAH!" Akira shouted. "_Seven_ times now!"

"_Not_ seven! Only FIVE!" yelled Hikaru.

"_Seven_!"

"_FIVE_!"

"_It is not, it's seven_!"

"Well, guess what? I'M LEAVING!" Hikaru shouted. He grabbed his bag that Ichikawa Harumi, the twenty-something who worked at the Go salon, held out stoically for him. Hikaru slammed the door on his way out.

Harumi sighed.

"Are you _sure_ they're friends?" one of the old regulars asked her in a whisper.

"Uh-huh," Harumi replied. "Rivals, mostly – but yes."

"It's good Akira-sensei has found someone his own age to be with," the regular commented.

"Ichikawa-san?" Akira said, coming up behind the two.

"A-A-Akira-sensei!" the regular exclaimed. "How are you today?"

Akira didn't answer. "I think I should head home now. I'm a bit tired after that. Could I have my bag, please, Ichikawa-san?"

"Here you are," said Harumi, handing Akira his bag. "Will you and Shindou-kun be coming tomorrow?"

"We should be," Akira said. "Thank you."

"See you, then," Harumi called as the door closed.

The regular stared. "They're friends, and Akira-sensei says they're both coming again, but all they do is shout at each other? That other boy probably doesn't hold a candle to Akira-sensei."

The door reopened. "Please do not talk about Shindou like that!" Akira exclaimed. "He is just as worthy of being your opponent as I!" He slammed the door.

The regular stared at the door, looking stunned.

Harumi pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to the customer. "Here's what I've concluded," she said. "Have a look."

The paper read:

GUIDE TO THE "KIND-OF" FRIENDSHIP OF AKIRA-KUN AND SHINDOU-KUN:

1. Get along and play half of a game at a Go salon.

2. Yell about the obvious mistakes of the other.

3. Get mad, fight, and walk off angrily.

4. Stick up for each other.

5. Repeat.

"Oh, I see," said the regular.

"Exactly," Harumi replied.

Touya Akira wondered vaguely why he was suddenly so tired as he walked down the steps to the ground floor of the building. Sudden spells of exhaustion had been plaguing him for a while, but he had no idea why. He got sleep, exercise, good food, brain stimulation – his doctor had said that he was a healthy individual last year.

As he walked out of the building, he could see Shindou Hikaru was still around, leaning on a railing.

"Shindou!" Akira called suddenly.

Hikaru turned around. "What?"

"Um…," said Akira, momentarily lost for words. He then remembered what he had been going to say. "You only said, 'Oh, I see,' six times, not seven."

"Yeah. I knew that," Hikaru said.

"Then why did you say it was only five?" Akira demanded, getting angry again.

"Cause…uh…geez, Touya, can't you take a joke?"

"Oh, yes, shouting, 'Guess what? I'm leaving!' is a joke."

Hikaru almost smirked a little. "Maybe someday I'll tell you how it's a joke, then."

"Shindou! You're not funny," said Akira. Shindou had done these kinds of things ever since Akira had first met him. Excuses all over the place – but Akira had seen Hikaru's Go, and that was enough for him now. Still, it annoyed him when Shindou referenced to his refusal to tell Akira the whole story.

It began to rain.

Hikaru started to laugh.

"All right, how is _this_ funny?" Akira demanded. Now he would be tired _and_ cold – neither of them had umbrellas.

"Just – you," said Hikaru.

"_Shindou_!"

Hikaru only laughed again. "You getting all mad over me laughing at the rain."

"So you finally tell all."

"Someday, I said, someday!"

"When is someday, Shindou?" Akira asked.

"Um…didn't you say my Go was enough for you?"

"Uh…yes…I did."

"Then it should be enough for you! Geez!" Hikaru exclaimed.

They were both soaked already.

"I suppose it should," said Akira. He began to walk towards the stairs that led to the train; he was longing for his bed at home, where he could just lay down and try to ignore all the aches he seemed to be getting lately. More Go study would have to wait until the next day.

The last thing he remembered of that day was Shindou's voice saying, "Um…Touya? This isn't funny. Hey! Touya!"

When Akira woke up, he wasn't sure where he was.

His first conclusion was that he was visiting his father in the hospital.

This was struck down by the remembrance that his father, Touya Kouyou, was in China at the moment, and that he had recovered from his heart attack long ago.

Then Akira realized that _he_ was the one in the hospital, because he was the one in the bed with people sitting on the couches. From the looks of the young woman who was now sitting near him, she was probably a nurse.

"Touya-kun, right?" she said in a cheerful tone. "Hopefully you'll be out soon; I know the doctors will be glad that you've woken up."

"Why am I here?" Akira asked. He truly didn't know. He wasn't sick. He had just been feeling tired, that was all. Shindou had probably gone overboard on any help he had gotten. Speaking of which, where was Shindou?

What day was it?

Akira asked, "Excuse me, how many days has it been since Thursday?"

"Today's Saturday," the nurse informed him. "So, just two." She stood up and began to rummage through a bag.

"Um, what do I have, exactly?" asked Akira. "Now that I've woken up, how long will it be before I can return home?" More importantly: He had a match on Monday. He needed to be there. He didn't want to forfeit just because Shindou the idiot had had him taken to a hospital – and probably in an ambulance, too. Great.

"You probably will have to stay here for a few more weeks," said the nurse.

"_Weeks_?" Akira sat straight up in bed. "I have to be in the semifinals for the tournament that decides who gets to be the challenger of Kuwabara Hon'inbou on Monday!"

"I'm sorry, Touya-kun," said the nurse. "But someone did stop by when he heard, I think his name was…um…Amano-san, maybe? Anyway, he said to give you this, and he also said he had filled out most of it for you – all you have to do is sign it, apparently." She handed him a sheaf of papers.

Akira looked at the top-most one.

PROFESSIONAL GO PLAYER APPLICATION FOR EXTENDED ABSENCE.

Akira scanned the form. Under "reason," the box "terminal illness" was checked.

"_Terminal illness_?" Akira exclaimed, shoving the form under the nurse's face. "What do you mean, '_terminal_ illness'?"

"Well…it's potentially terminal," said the nurse, looking uncomfortable.

Akira began praying that this was all some dream – or, as Shindou would probably put it, a whole big joke.

"Touya-kun, when did you start experiencing symptoms?" the nurse asked.

"Of what? Symptoms of what?"

"Fatigue? Fever? Aches? Swollen glands?"

"Er…fatigue and aches," said Akira. He was really thinking, _Swollen what?_

"How long have you been experiencing these?"

Akira thought. "A while. Two months, or so."

The nurse's eyebrows rose and Akira took that as a bad sign. "Two entire months?"

Akira only shrugged a bit; he hadn't thought it was anything to worry about.

There was a knock on his door, and a doctor motioned the nurse out. The nurse closed the door and began to converse with the doctor in low tones.

Akira was starting to get annoyed – couldn't these people even tell him this 'potentially terminal illness' was? He rose from the bed, ignoring his body's protests that he was tired, and began to eavesdrop at the door.

"Two months?" the doctor's voice said. "It took him _two months_ before anyone else noticed?"

"It's definitely A.L.L.," said the nurse. "The blood tests just came back in."

"I've contacted his mother – his father is in China, playing Go, apparently," said the doctor. "He's coming as quickly as he can, the mother says – with the amount in his blood and the two months it went unchecked…. It could even go back farther than two months, it probably does."

"I haven't even told him yet," said the nurse. "I was wondering if his family breaking the news would be more appropriate."

_I don't know what A.L.L. stands for, just say the entire thing, please_! Akira mentally begged. _That way I'll know what I'm facing and it will be just like another game. Then, I'll only think of the game and find a way to win. Now, if you could just tell me who my opponent is, we could begin. But I suppose my opponent has already taken black_….

"So, should I tell him?" the nurse asked.

_Heck yes_, Akira thought.

"No need," said the doctor. "But you can tell him that he's not going to be playing any of these – um, he's a professional Go player, his mother said, so–"

"Isn't he only fifteen?" the nurse interrupted.

"The Go world does things differently," said the doctor. "It's a shame – apparently he's one of the best players, too. But he won't be going anywhere for a while. It'd be good to file a leave of absence form."

"Someone already dropped one off for him," said the nurse. "I'll go back in and make sure he understands it, and then I'll get him something to eat, but then what?"

"Wait," said the doctor. "Ask him if he wants anything from home; we can pass it on to his parents."

"All right," said the nurse.

Akira heard footsteps and quickly climbed back into his bed.

The nurse opened the door. "So, Touya-kun, that form – is it all clear?"

Akira nodded as he stared at the request for excused absences gloomily.

"Is there anything you want to eat?"

"No, thank you."

"Anything from home I could ask your parents to bring?"

"A Go board and a laptop," said Akira. "That will be all."

"A laptop…?" the nurse said.

"Online Go," Akira explained. "I will be able to play every day that way."

"The doctor says you should take a rest from playing Go," said the nurse.

"Absolutely not," said Akira.

"Touya-kun, the game isn't life, right?"

"Yes, it is," Akira said. "I've devoted my life to it, haven't I? Why shouldn't I play? Aches don't stop me from clicking a mouse. Besides, I was going to play Ashiwara-san, Ogata-san, _and_ Shindou today at the Go salon."

"Think of your health, Touya-kun," the nurse wheedled. "You want to get back out there as soon as possible, right?"

"Not if this illness is terminal," argued Akira, now very irked with the hospital people. "If I'm going to die anyway, shouldn't I play as much as I can before I go?" Akira thought that if he kept mentioning his illness, the nurse would let slip and tell him what it was.

"But A.L.L. is curable, most of the time!" said the nurse.

"What is A.L.L.?" Akira asked.

"Um…," said the nurse.

Akira looked at his bedside table. There was a phone there. Akira picked it up and dialed what he hoped was Ogata's number.

"Hello?" Ogata's voice answered.

"Wait, Touya-kun!" the nurse exclaimed, but Akira was already talking.

"Ogata-san, it's Akira. Do you happen to be online now?"

"Akira-kun, what is this about?"

"Do a search on 'A.L.L.' for me, please," said Akira. "I'm unable to get to my computer at the moment."

"Akira-kun, Touya-sensei is coming back from China."

"I know – please do the search."

"Very well," said Ogata. Thirty seconds later…. "Akira-kun…."

"Yes?"

"Why are you in the hospital?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out. Could you please tell me what A.L.L. is before the nurse manages to wrench the phone out of my hand?" Akira pleaded, fighting off the nurse with his other arm.

Ogata chuckled on the line. "This is almost as bad as your reactions to Shindou."

"_Please_, Ogata-san!" Akira begged.

"I think it will be best if Touya-sensei tells you," said Ogata. "But I'll be coming by later. Goodbye."

Akira heard the dial tone ten seconds later.

Time for his last resort. His mother wouldn't tell him even if he called home, his father wasn't there, Ogata-san wouldn't tell him…. So there was only one option.

Akira again prayed that he dialed the right number.

"Hello, Shindou residence," he heard a woman's voice answered.

"Is Shindou home?" Akira asked, before remembering that, if he was calling Hikaru's house, they would all be named Shindou.

"Oh, Hikaru? Yes, just a moment. Whom should I say is calling?"

"Touya. I am also a professional Go player."

"_Oh_, all right," said the woman's voice.

"_Get off the phone_!" the nurse hissed.

"Get off _me_!" Akira exclaimed.

"Touya, what are you calling me for?" Hikaru asked on his telephone, back at his own house. "Are you out of the hospital?"

"Shindou…do you have…a computer at your house?" Akira asked breathlessly, now battling furiously with the nurse for control of the phone.

"No – and I'm _not_ Sai, if that's what you're asking!"

"_No_, Shindou – do you have…a dictionary…then?" said Akira.

"Yeah, sure, but I don't use it."

"Look up A.L.L., now!"

"Why?" asked Hikaru.

"Because an insane nurse is trying to not let me find out what I'm diagnosed with!" Akira exclaimed, sounding as furious as he had been during their match against each other in their first year of middle school at the tournament. Hikaru knew that tone of voice, and it meant Akira was serious.

"Yeah, hang on a sec…." Hikaru ran to the dictionary, looked it up, and ran back to the phone. "Why do you wanna know, again?"

"Just tell me, Shindou, or I'll ask Ichikawa-san to make you pay me five hundred yen for each time you say, 'Oh, I see,'" said Akira. "I'd be rich within the hour."

"Fine, whatever," Hikaru said. "It's acute lymphocytic leukemia. Why are you asking me this again?"

"And what exactly is that?" Akira's voice had suddenly gone very calm and quiet, almost as if he was now resigned.

"Um…." Hikaru ran to the dictionary again and came back a few seconds later. "It's a type of cancer when there are malignant white blood cells, which inhibits the body's ability to manufacture red blood cells, platelets, and healthy white blood cells."

Akira thought back to biology. "Oh. I see."

"_HAH!_ You said it before I did!" Hikaru exclaimed triumphantly.

"Shindou."

"Yeah?"

"What are the chances of recovery?"

"Geez, what are you now, an interrogator?"

"Shindou, answer the question!" Akira's voice had gone fierce again.

"Okay, okay! Um…it says it depends on the aggressiveness of the disease, but it can be cured. Uh…quote, 'without treatment, death can occur within weeks or even months,' unquote, but if you get treatment early, the book says you're generally fine."

The full impact of the two months of not telling anyone about his fatigue spells now hit Akira like a punch to the gut.

"Shindou," Akira whispered into the phone, still trying to fight off the nurse.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. I needed to know that."

"Um…sure," said Hikaru. Akira had never thanked him for anything before. It was almost strange, hearing Akira say thanks to him for something.

"And Shindou?"

"What now?"

"I'm in room 341 of the same hospital my father was in."

Hikaru's translation: You can come and visit.

"Got it," said Hikaru. "Bye."

"Bye," Akira said. He hung up the phone.

The nurse backed up, looking scared, and for a good reason.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST _TELL_ ME?" Akira screamed at her.

The nurse ran out of the room, frightened out of her mind.

Akira's scream had used up the last of his energy. Even though he was incredibly angry and confused, he fell asleep immediately.

The publishing sector of the Nihon Ki-in was going nuts.

"How on earth do we break _this_ news?" someone wondered, sounding frantic. "We can't just say Touya-kun's taking an extended leave of absence for no reason!"

"We don't have to say anything until Touya-kun turns in the form I left for him," Amano, the head of the publishing department, said. "Now, how do we explain Touya Kouyou-sensei's return from China so abruptly?"

"Why don't we ask the Touya family how they would like it announced?" the new assistant asked hesitantly.

The rest of the publishing people looked at him for a moment.

"By God, you're brilliant!" they shouted as one.

"_If_ they answer the phone," said a pessimistic guy.

"Well, I can go see Touya-kun again when he's well enough to get visitors," Amano said. "Then I can ask him. Or perhaps we should phone a student of Touya Kouyou-sensei's…?"

"We could call Ogata-sensei or Ashiwara-sensei," another suggested.

"Or Shindou-kun…," Amano mused.

"_Shindou-kun_?" shouted the rest of the publishing sector.

"Never mind," Amano said quickly. "But I did ask the hospital if Touya-kun would be able to play his game on Monday, and the nurse I spoke with said that Touya-kun wouldn't be able to leave the hospital for a while."

"Why?" asked the new assistant.

"Something about a vulnerable immune system," said Amano. "Anyway, let's call the Touya house first, then Ogata-sensei – he probably knows something."

"_Hee hee hee_!" The publishing people looked for the sound of the laughter and found Kuwabara Hon'inbou standing in the doorway. "What were you saying about Touya-kun, Amano-san? Going to go to Ogata-kun for answers?"

"Uh, Kuwabara-sensei…," Amano trailed off. "We…were…uh…."

"_Ee hee hee hee_," Kuwabara laughed. "The young ones can't take on the old anymore – and _we're_ supposed to be the ones who are getting sickly. _Hee hee hee_!"

And yes, nearly everyone agreed, even though Kuwabara Hon'inbou was a brilliant Go player, that he was slightly insane.

Author's Ending Notes: This story will have three total chapters, which will be uploaded in extremely rapid succession. Please be kind in reviews; however, do not hesitate to express your true personal opinion. Thank you, and please keep reading.


	2. Chapter 2

_You May Play the Divine Move_

Two months later, Shindou Hikaru received a letter in the mail. He opened it and read,

_Shindou,_

_Ichikawa-san has counted for me and says you have said, "Oh, I see," at least three times each on the days you went to the salon without me. I have bested you yet again, for I played against my father this morning and only had to say it twice._

_This hospital does not have a subscription to _Weekly Go_, regrettably, and so I wish to know your won-loss record. (Ogata-san, as you may well imagine, refuses to tell me.) Also, what on earth are you doing? I'm in room 341, and I am reminding you as I have concluded you must have forgotten. I will have you know I look exactly the same since my body is "not responding" to chemotherapy. _

_Get here; I've been thinking of a game between us and it's been at the forefront of my mind for many days now. _

_Touya Akira_

Hikaru stared at the letter from Touya. He had thought of Touya a few times, wondering if Touya was bored out of his mind. Apparently, he was.

"Hikaru?" his mother asked. "Who is that from? And the Ki-in sent you another match schedule today."

"Touya," said Hikaru. "See you." He began to put on his shoes.

"Um, Hikaru, where are you going?" his mother said.

"I'm going to see Touya," Hikaru replied.

"All right; just get home before dark." His mom went back to the living room where she had been reading.

Hikaru reached the hospital in fifteen minutes and stood outside the front. He looked at the small garden towards the back and saw a trail.

"Well, Touya, you can wait ten more minutes," Hikaru said to the air. "You've probably got someone up there anyway." And he turned down the path and began to walk down it, thinking about Sai, as he sometimes did when he took walks.

He spun around when he thought he heard Touya's voice say, "Yes, it's much better outside. The doctors seem to think if I so much as twitch something's gone horribly wrong."

"Are you sure we can do this, Akira-kun?" another voice asked.

Yep, that was Ichikawa Harumi, the Go salon lady's voice. Definitely Touya, then. Hikaru kept walking, figuring that he would run into them eventually. Then Touya would probably demand a game, and he wouldn't let Hikaru leave for at least another hour afterwards so they could have a decent discussion.

"We're fine, so long as we don't inform the doctors that I've gone out," Touya said, sounding closer now. "If they do find out, you can tell them you made sure I was in my wheelchair the entire time."

"But, Akira-kun, you weren't in your chair the entire time."

"It was only a few minutes that I actually walked; they needn't know about that," said Touya. "They seem to think I can only lie around. But I'm winning this corner fight and I'm going to keep black out with a kakari at the five-seven point."

"Um, Akira-kun…?"

"Yes?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind, Ichikawa-san. It's nothing."

Hikaru saw the two as he rounded the bend. Even though he had overheard talk of a wheelchair, it seemed very odd that Touya was seated in one, looking exhausted. He wearing clothes for relaxation, not his Kaiou uniform or clothes for a match. This was _not _the intense, mature Touya he usually saw.

Touya suddenly looked ahead and realized he was there. "Shindou. You came."

"Hello, Shindou-kun," Harumi greeted.

"Hey," Hikaru said awkwardly, waiting for the challenge that was supposed to be coming from Akira. But no, it was only the half-hearted, "Shindou. You came."

"We were just going inside," said Harumi.

"Y'know, maybe I should tell that nurse that you were out here," Hikaru said, trying to get Akira to act like the normal Akira, the one who would always overreact to everything he said.

"_Shindou_!" Akira exclaimed.

"That's better," said Hikaru.

"What are you talking about, Shindou?" Akira demanded. "Are you here to play a game or not?"

"Yeah," said Hikaru, glad that he had provoked the real Akira enough so that he would act like he usually did. "Let's go."

Harumi sighed. "You can't yell at each other in a hospital, you two."

"Watch me," Hikaru and Akira said at the same time.

"He's _bound_ to do something wrong; he's Shindou," said Akira. "Anyway, perhaps the doctors will take it as a sign that I have my energy back."

"If I get in trouble, I'll blame it on him," Hikaru said, pointing to Akira with his thumb.

Harumi sighed as the two teens glared at each other, having just realized what the other boy had said.

"What d'ya mean, I'm bound to do something wrong?!"

"You, blame _me_? You've got to be kidding!"

Even as Harumi sighed again, she smiled. Shindou-kun obviously didn't know how withdrawn Akira had become lately, but he had been the perfect medicine in terms of getting Akira's regular personality to come back.

"Well, why don't we actually play and find out?" Hikaru challenged.  
"Fine! _Onegaishimasu_!" Akira shouted, not sounding very polite at all.

"As you two might have noticed, there's not a board here," Harumi pointed out.

The two boys looked blankly at each other for a few seconds.

"Oh," both said.

"Let's go back in, then," said Akira, not sounding happy about the prospect.

"It's time for your medicine, anyway," Harumi said, checking her watch. "Didn't you say the nurse would come around four? It's three fifty now."

"It is?" Akira said. He swore quietly enough so that Ichikawa didn't hear him. "I said the nurse comes at fifteen till four."

Hikaru took that to be a bad thing. "So, want me to think up an excuse?"

"Sure, Shindou," said Akira. "You always have been good at excuses. Speaking of which–"

"Um, I'll go head them off!" Hikaru yelled, running back towards the hospital.

"He's making this sound like a corny movie," commented Harumi.

Akira laughed a little. "I would have pitied the world if Shindou hadn't become a Go player."

When Harumi and Akira entered, they found Hikaru bowing frantically to the head doctor while making up excuse after excuse for barging in the door and yelling his head off. Akira took the opportunity to motion Harumi towards the elevator, and she got the message. Akira was safely in his bed (and Ichikawa had left) by the time the nurse – who had been distracted by Hikaru's arrival – to show in his visitor.

"Hello, Shindou," said Akira. "Back so soon?"

Hikaru bit his lip to keep from saying anything or laughing.

The nurse looked perplexed. "Er, Touya-kun, has he ever come to see you before?"

"No, actually," said Akira. He saw the nurse preparing another shot and said, "Can we just give it up? I know it's not working."

The nurse froze.

"Could I try an alternative?" Akira asked. "What are the other options?"

The nurse glanced at Hikaru, who had sat down and was trying to figure out how to set Akira's Go board up so that both of them could reach it easily.

"I don't care if you talk about it in front of Shindou," said Akira.

The nurse was surprised. Her patient had been quite adamant about the doctors not saying anything about his disease when he had visitors. But she asked, "How do you know that it's not working?"

"Simple," said Akira. "I've done research." He indicated his laptop. "My hair hasn't fallen out."

Hikaru sniggered.

"That's not funny!" Akira exclaimed.

"So that's what you meant," Hikaru laughed, "when you said you looked the same! Hey, can I come again once you're cured? I want to see _that_!"

"If you see me without my hair then you'll have to dye those stupid blond bits in the front back to black!" Akira retorted.

"They've always been that color!" said Hikaru.

"That's not genetically possible!" Akira shot back.

"Well, how is your hair green, then?" Hikaru demanded.

"Um…I don't know," Akira admitted.

"My point has been made," said Hikaru.

"_Excuse me_, but I'm trying to take care of my patient!" the nurse interrupted.

"Excuse _me_, but I really don't need it," Akira said.

"Of course you do," said the nurse.

"Shindou, let's choose for color already," said Akira, observing Hikaru had managed to set up the board. "I say you've got an odd number."

"Sorry, it's even," said Hikaru, after counting eight stones.

"I'm always white, have you noticed that?"

"Yeah, actually – you're a really bad guesser, aren't you?"

"I am not!"

"You are so," said Hikaru.

"Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I'm not the one who guesses when I do the _nigiri_ sometimes?" Akira asked him.

"Uh…no."

"_My_ point has been made," said Akira.

"Touya-kun, can't you please let me get this over with?" the nurse asked.

"After my game," Akira said, taking the Go bowl Hikaru was holding.

"But–" the nurse started.

Akira glared at her with his intense game eyes. "_After_ my game."

"Okay," the nurse agreed meekly. She left quickly. Sometimes, that boy terrified her.

"Now that she's gone…," Akira trailed off. "_Onegaishimasu_."

"_Onegaishimasu_," said Hikaru. And their game began.

Three hours later….

"That went fast," Hikaru remarked.

"Let's go back to the middle game," suggested Akira. They quickly took around half the stones off the board. Akira pointed to a spot near the middle and said, "This was a mistake. If you had cut me off here, you would've been more successful in this fight in the endgame."

"Oh, I see…. But if you had gone here instead, you would've gotten all this," said Hikaru, indicating ten points with his hands.

"Oh…I see…."

They went on like this for some time, until….

"Oh, I see," Akira said for the fifth time.

"Hah! You got to five times before I did!" Hikaru said triumphantly.

Akira sighed. "Fine. You win."

Hikaru gave Akira a look that said, "Are you sure you're okay today?" He actually said, "Thanks for the game." But he thought it was very strange that Akira was agreeing with him on the "Oh, I see" count – usually they would have to yell at each other for ten minutes until the conflict was resolved or until Hikaru left.

As Hikaru turned to leave, Akira said, "Shindou, wait."

"Yeah?" said Hikaru.

"Would-you-please-come-again-tomorrow?" Akira said quickly.

"What?"

"Would-you-please-come-again-tomorrow?" Akira said, even faster this time.

"Uh…," said Hikaru, trying to work out what Akira had said. Five seconds later he said, "Sure. Oh, yeah, I've only lost once. I only need a few more points before I'm promoted, so hurry up and get out of here or I'm going to pass you up!" He said, "Heh heh!" before walking out the door to Akira's furious cry of, "_Shindou_!"

After the first time, Hikaru visited Akira once a week (the one time he had forgotten Akira had gotten his phone number, called him from the hospital, and yelled at him for ten full minutes until Hikaru had promised to come – and then when he had actually showed up Akira had yelled at him for ten minutes more).

Three months after the first visit, Hikaru was promoted to two-dan. When he told this news to Akira (who made Hikaru tell him his won-loss record as well), Akira seemed gloomy.

"You're not losing points because of your forfeits," said Hikaru. "Isn't that what the leave of absence is for?"

"I can only play people who come here," Akira said. He stared out the window at the falling snow as he continued, "because the doctors say if I leave that I will catch something else, as my immune system is apparently not in the best of conditions."

Hikaru didn't really understand that much about A.L.L., so he didn't ask Akira anything about it. All he knew was that chemotherapy wasn't working, for some reason, since Akira's chin-length hair had yet to fall out. Hikaru assumed that wasn't a good sign, but as long as Akira could play Go, he wasn't on the brink of death.

"My father comes every other day with my mother, and Ogata-san or Ashiwara-san come to play me on the other days. Kurata-san came once. When Ichikawa-san comes, I can only play teaching games with her. But your games are most like playing the others, because you are not predictable," said Akira. "I know Father's, Ogata-san's, and Ashiwara-san's styles so well that if I was asked to play a game that they would have played, I could do it. Mother doesn't play Go…she says I should stop for a while." Akira sighed. "I've been here too long."

Hikaru would have agreed if Akira had been looking more up to an argument.

"When I'm tired, Father knows, and Ogata-san knows, and even Ashiwara-san knows, and they play predictably so that I may fully understand the game. But you always play all-out against me, which is why you must continue to come. I must not get used to this repetitive playing, because in the most important game, I can't expect anything," said Akira.

Hikaru was the only one Akira would usually mention his other game with, and Hikaru wasn't quite sure what it was. Hikaru knew it was a game Akira wasn't playing with anything tangible, so he left it at that.

"The end game is coming – my territory still needs to grow a bit larger, and there is a large fight somewhere, all the time," Akira continued. "As soon as that fight for the board is resolved, I will be able to read it to the end."

Hikaru only nodded. Sometimes Hikaru just let Akira talk, because Hikaru thought it would be pretty boring spending five months in a hospital and have only adults to talk to.

There was silence for a while. Hikaru sat down next to Akira's Go board and said, "Touya, let's play."

"All right, let's," said Akira.

The game passed in silence, something extremely rare for the two. Afterwards, since Akira – the one who usually started the discussion – did not say anything, Hikaru said, "Do you think I should have pulled back here?"

"Maybe," Akira said. "I actually thought you read that well. Though if you had pulled back, you might have gained enough influence down here that I would have had a harder time getting in."

"You could have gone here instead, though," said Hikaru, pointing.

"Oh. I see."

By the end of the discussion, the "Oh, I see" count stood at six for Akira and two for Hikaru.

"Aha! You said it four more times than I did!" Hikaru exclaimed. He had done better than last week. Now _this_ would surely provoke an answer from Akira.

The answer wasn't what Hikaru would have expected. It was simply, "Yes."

"Touya…has something else gone wrong?" Hikaru finally asked, after a minute and a half. It was the first time he had inquired about Akira's treatments, but Akira didn't notice this.

"They want me to have some kind of surgery soon," said Akira. "They've been very vague about it, but I've researched the few things they've said. If it is successful, I will probably be allowed to go home by my birthday in the spring."

"That's great," said Hikaru. It was – all the pros felt the absence of one of the greatest of them all.

"But if it doesn't work, there's not much they can do anymore," Akira said very quietly.

"Oh, come on, it's going to work," said Hikaru. "Don't be so depressing, Touya! Geez, you always take things way too seriously."

"There is also a chance of…," Akira stopped and restarted with, "If we need to get to surgery, they'll do it. But the doctors may not have to."

"Well, you'll probably be fine before they have to do it, then," said Hikaru. "Touya, we haven't been in a title match yet. Let's get there already."

"That would be nice."

"I'm going to get to three-dan so fast you won't be able to blink."

"Probably."

"Argh, won't you argue about _anything_?" Hikaru said.

"What's there to argue about?"

"_Anything_!" Hikaru repeated. "Are you _trying_ to be a lifeless vegetable?"

"_SHINDOU_!" Akira shouted at him.

"_There_ you go," said Hikaru. "Man, I think you need to yell more. It gives you energy, I swear."

"_Get out, Shindou_!" Akira yelled.

"Okay!" said Hikaru, waltzing out and smirking.

"_And don't you dare forget to come next week_!"

"Got it," Hikaru said, flashing Akira a thumbs-up before closing the door.

"He's right," Akira murmured when Hikaru had gone. "I do feel more energetic when I shout that way."

He fell asleep a minute later.

Please continue to stick with the story! This is my first uploaded fic, so niceness in reviews would be quite appreciated. However, if you do dislike it, thank you for actually reading the second chapter and review anyway. Only one more chapter to go! Thank you all!


	3. Chapter 3

_You May Play the Divine Move_

Author's Notes: The final chapter. I thank you, my readers, extensively. I really do hope you have enjoyed (hm, is that the right word?) this fic. If not, I hope it made you think. One of my goals in life is to make myself (and others, hopefully) confront and think about things that normally go unsaid or unheeded. Thank you all again.

When Hikaru knocked on the door of room 341 sometime in February, no one answered.

Hikaru knocked louder.

There was no answer. He tried the door, but it was locked.

"HEY!" he shouted. No answer.

"Touya, if you've just up and died on me, you're even worse than Sai!" Hikaru yelled at the door, kicking it furiously.

"Excuse me, are you looking for someone?" Akira's nurse asked him, poking her head out from another room.

"Where the hell did Touya go?" Hikaru shouted, not remembering to watch his language.

"Now calm down," the nurse said comfortingly. "He's having his surgery today. Didn't he tell you?"

"Now that you mention it…," Hikaru trailed off and thought. "Oh, yeah. He said something like, 'I'm not going to be available next week,' or…um…something."

"See?" said the nurse. "And I think it would be best if you don't come next week – lately you two have started shouting at each other again, and Touya-kun does need his rest, especially after this."

Hikaru nearly rolled his eyes. Akira had flat-out said, "I'd like it if you'd come more often, Shindou," a few weeks ago. The stupid nurse didn't know what was good for Touya, geez. Even Touya's dad had approved when he had visited with Akira at the same time Hikaru came. But he only said the classic teenager line: "Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Good," said the nurse, closing the door to the other room again.

Hikaru was about to turn when he changed his mind and banged on the door again.

"Yes?" the nurse said, now sounding impatient.

"When's Touya getting out of surgery?"

"Two weeks, I said! Can't you wait_ two weeks_?" the nurse asked, obviously annoyed. "He won't call you, I can tell you that – I took it out of his room today when he left."

"You can't just do that to Touya!" Hikaru half-shouted. "You're cutting him off from everything!"

The nurse slammed the door after a cool, "Goodbye."

Hikaru left the hospital, slamming every door he could along the way.

Two weeks later, Hikaru heard a scratching noise coming from behind Akira's door. He opened it hesitantly to find Akira struggling to push himself out in a wheelchair.

Akira sighed and leaned back in the chair. "You know, I was _trying_ to open that door myself, Shindou."

"That's the first thing you say?" said Hikaru.

"You didn't come last week," Akira retorted. "And the nurse disconnected the phone."

"_She's_ the one that kicked me out!" Hikaru exclaimed.

"That only says you're a horrible sneak!" said Akira.

"That's supposed to be a good thing!" Hikaru said.

This conversation eventually reached shouting levels, and the nurse ran down the hall to find Akira halfway out of his room in his wheelchair and Hikaru trying to close the door on him.

"Touya-kun!" the nurse cried. "Get back in bed!"

"_Damn it_," Akira hissed. He yelled, "This is all _your_ fault, Shindou!"

"How is _this_ my fault?" asked Hikaru. "You're the one trying to get out in that stupid chair!"

"I'm the one who can't walk at the moment!" Akira shouted, but he looked stricken. "God, Shindou, if _this_ isn't my fault and if it's not your fault, then whose is it?"

"Well, maybe it _is_ your fault!" yelled Hikaru.

"Then maybe _you_ can tell me what the cure is!" Akira screamed at him.

"Touya-kun, get back in–" the nurse started, trying to grab Touya's chair.

"_NO_!" Akira pushed the nurse back, leapt out of the chair, trembled for a second, and then fell with a "thump!" to the floor.

Hikaru could only stare at Akira as he tried to push himself up from the ground. The nurse kept saying, "Oh, lord, oh, dear lord," while Akira continued his unsuccessful efforts.

Finally, Hikaru held out his hand for Akira to take.

Akira looked up at Hikaru, cold fury etched in his eyes.

Hikaru stepped back.

The nurse ran to get help. It was as if time was moving in slow motion.

After five minutes, Akira gave up. He just placed his head back on the floor and closed his eyes, waiting with dread for the doctor to come and get someone to watch him for twenty-four hours a day like he had threatened if Akira attempted to leave his room again.

Hikaru looked up and down the empty hallway, and all was clear. He picked up Akira and slung him over his shoulder.

"Have you been eating _anything_?" Hikaru asked Akira, who shook his head silently, expecting to be dumped in his bed and then left there.

Instead, Hikaru started walking calmly down the hall and pressed the "down" arrow on the elevator.

Akira's eyes widened as he realized what Hikaru was doing. "Shindou, are you insane?" Akira whispered.

"It's not like you can get much worse," Hikaru said truthfully. "You want out. What's your address?"

Akira almost smiled. Perhaps it was time to re-evaluate his thoughts of Shindou yet again. He told Hikaru his address quietly as they rode down the elevator.

"Do you think you can stand up long enough to fool the receptionists?" Hikaru asked.

"I think so," said Akira. He leaned shakily against the elevator railing. "Yes. I can." The elevator opened on the first floor. "Let's go."

They walked out so that Hikaru faced the receptionists, so that Akira could lean on Hikaru without anyone seeing. They made it out of the hospital without detection.

Akira began to shake immediately. "Shindou, do you realize it's February?"

"Here, then," said Hikaru, putting his coat on Akira. "Which train should we take?"

Twenty minutes later, Akira and Hikaru – who were both completely exhausted from trying to walk and from supporting another fifteen-year-old, respectively – stood in front of Akira's Japanese-style house.

"I'm starting to get second thoughts, Shindou," said Akira.

"Look, you're probably going to have to go back anyway, right? Might as well come home for a while," said Hikaru.

Akira smiled a bit and said, "Oh, I see," just as he did in a discussion.

"You said it first," Hikaru said.

"Yes. I said it first. Let's go," said Akira.

Hikaru rang the doorbell and the rather intimidating Touya Kouyou opened it to find his son and his son's rival standing in the doorway.

Later, Hikaru wished he had had a camera with him – it was the only time anyone had ever seen the former Meijin look completely stunned.

"Akira!" was all he said, and he pulled Akira into the house. Hikaru followed hesitantly.

Akira was quickly put on a couch before he collapsed, and Hikaru sat in the Seiza style next to him so that he could also face Akira's father.

"Your mother is out," Touya Kouyou said. "But Shindou-kun, Akira, what possessed you to do something so foolish?"

Hikaru and Akira looked at each other, and Akira decided he should answer. "I needed to come back here, so Shindou accompanied me."

"Dragged you, more like," Hikaru said under his breath.

"That isn't my fault; they gave me sedatives," said Akira.

Touya Kouyou finally said, "Akira, you will return to that hospital and stay there as long as necessary. Is that understood?"

"Yes," Akira said quietly.

"Do you both understand that you have done something extremely careless?" his father continued.

"Yes," Hikaru and Akira said.

"Will either of you do anything like this again?"

"Yes," said Hikaru.

If Akira had had the strength to, he would've slapped his forehead. "That was your cue to say, 'No,' Shindou."

Hikaru suddenly realized that the former Meijin hadn't said, "You won't do something like this again," and looked as if he knew he was about to get into trouble. "Um, I'm very sorry, Touya-sensei, I meant–"

"I know," Touya Kouyou said. "I am going to phone the hospital. Shindou-kun, you should go home. Akira, stay there…and _never_ do anything like this ever again."

Akira nodded while looking at the floor. His father left the room.

"Man, he was scary," Hikaru blurted before he could stop himself.

"No. He is only concerned about my health, Shindou. I knew this wasn't a good idea…." Akira sighed heavily.

"You'd think he'd be happy you were home, though," said Hikaru.

"_No_, Shindou, my father…." Akira's voice went taut, and then he suddenly exclaimed, "His son is _dying_, Shindou! What would you make of it? What if doing this has – has – just _leave_!"

After this, Hikaru realized that there was a serious chance that Touya might die. He had always thought that Touya would pull through – it was Touya, after all. Touya, the one who had always pushed the boundaries of the game; Touya, the one who had chased after Sai with relentless and fierce determination for years; Touya, the one who came closest to knowing everything about Sai anyone on the outside of Hikaru's world could ever know.

Hikaru went home and got into bed.

At first, he hadn't believed Touya would just die.

But he hadn't believed Sai when Sai had said he was disappearing, either.

Touya just couldn't die like Sai. Sai had lived for a thousand years. Akira had only lived for a little less than sixteen. They still had to be friends, still had to be rivals, still had to play the Divine Move!

When Hikaru woke up, he told himself that Touya wouldn't die just yet, so long as he was concerned. But he didn't go to see Touya for a while after that.

And Akira didn't call him. Not even once.

It was April when Hikaru received the second letter. It was short, but it wasn't sweet. It read:

_Shindou,_

_Come here. They've put me back in 341. This is short because after five minutes my hand can't seem to be able to hold a pen anymore, so get here before I have to steal a phone._

_Touya_

The writing was slanted and looked as if it had been written by a first-grader.

Hikaru stood up from the kitchen table so fast his mother turned around and said, "What's wrong?"

"Touya," Hikaru said.

"Oh, that pro who's called you a few times?" his mother asked.

"Yeah, I've got to go," said Hikaru. "I think he's gotten worse. Bye!" He ran out, not answering his mother's question of, "Is he sick?"

Hikaru ran all the way to the train and got on the fastest one available. He reached the hospital in a record time of seven minutes. He pushed the elevator button, but since it didn't open immediately, he skipped it and ran up the stairs three at a time.

He sped down the hall that started with room 301 and eventually got to 341. He flung the door open, half-shouting, "Touya!"

Akira turned his head slowly from where he was lying in bed and only looked at Hikaru. Hikaru stared back; Akira looked like he was attached to at least three machines, which were giving off new readings constantly.

"I was hoping you would come today," Akira said softly.

"Well, I was all worried about the phone," Hikaru joked. "It would've gotten an earache if you had found it."

Akira half-smiled at the thought. Then he said, "I was hoping you would come today," again.

"Why?" Hikaru asked.

"This might sound a bit silly, but I was hoping you would come on my birthday," Akira confessed. "And today is my birthday."

Hikaru didn't say he thought it sounded a bit silly. But, since Akira was stuck here, he probably thought it would be nice if he got more visitors on his birthday.

So, Hikaru sat down and began preparing the Go board.

"Shindou," said Akira.

"Yeah?"

"Don't bother."

Hikaru, who had been about to place a handful of stones on the board so they could _nigiri_, let them fall back into the bowl.

"I could barely pick them up this morning," said Akira, "and I feel more tired now. I can't even point. That's…pitiful."

Hikaru secretly agreed, but Akira wasn't very cheery anyway, so Hikaru thought his comment would only make it worse.

The sky darkened outside Akira's window as they sat in silence for a while.

"Shindou?"

"Uh-huh."

"Last year, do you remember when we played against each other for the first time as pros?" said Akira.

"Of course I do!" said Hikaru.

"And I said that I saw Sai in you, but that the game you play is what you are, and since that won't change, that's all I need?"

"Yeah," Hikaru said, wondering where this was leading.

"Then you said, 'Yeah, maybe I'll tell you everything someday,'" said Akira. He was quiet for another minute before he continued, "Shindou, please tell me. Please say 'someday' is today. I've finally worked out that I've been trying to do three things: I wanted to win once – just once – against Father when I had no handicap, and I did that this morning. And I wanted to know your whole story for my second. At this point, I'll believe anything and everything you say, Shindou. I promise."

Hikaru stared, half in shock and half in awe. "Touya…."

Akira held his gaze with the eyes he had while he was playing a game. They were the only part of Akira that Hikaru recognized anymore, because Akira's worn-out body didn't fit him at all. Akira said, "There are only so many more days that can be 'someday,' Shindou."

Hikaru took a deep breath. "All right."

"Everything. You have to tell _everything_, Shindou."

"Well, there was this day when I was in sixth grade. It was actually only a few days before I met you. I was with Akari – a neighbor of mine – and I was looking for old stuff to sell in my grandpa's shed because my parents had cut my allowance for scoring eight points on my social studies test."

"I cannot say that I'm surprised, Shindou," said Akira, sounding a bit amused.

"Yeah, shut up, Touya. Anyway, I saw blood stains on the Go board, and I heard a voice, and I got freaked out and fell unconscious. But when I woke up, I met Sai."

"_Sai_!" Akira interjected. "Who is Sai?"

"I'm getting there, hold on!" said Hikaru. "He was a ghost from the Heian Era, and all he could talk about was playing Go…."

For the next hour and a half, all Akira did was listen to Hikaru tell the story of his adventures with Sai, from going to the Go salon to becoming a pro to Sai disappearing, all the way up until right after his first game with Akira as a pro.

"So you were right," Hikaru concluded. "Sai was inside me, and now he's in my Go." He hesitated before asking, "Do you even believe me?"

Akira didn't answer for a long time. Finally, he said, "Yes."

"Good," said Hikaru. "But don't tell anyone, okay?"

"I won't," Akira said. "Nobody would believe _me_."

"You got that right," said Hikaru.

"It's all so clear now," Akira murmured, more to himself than to Hikaru. He looked up, smiling, and said, "Shindou…thank you."

Hikaru shrugged. "Anytime." He stood up to go and glanced out the window as he did so. "Darn. It's raining."

Akira looked out the window as well. "I don't mind."

"That's because _you're_ the one staying inside," Hikaru grumbled.

"Shindou – stay for another hour. Please."

Hikaru looked at his watch; it was already past nine. Oh, well, his mother would have to worry about him later. Akira sounded half desperate. "Sure," said Hikaru. He sat back down.

"I want to show you a game," said Akira. "See that lever on the side of the bed? Turn it clockwise."

Hikaru got up again and turned the lever, which made half of Akira's bed rise so that he was sitting up.

The first stone slipped through Akira's fingers, but the second he held onto firmly. He began to play the game from memory confidently, but stopped after a devastating move made by black, where he faltered and frowned down at the board.

"Shindou," he nearly whispered, "you can read this out to the end, can't you?"

"I think," said Hikaru. "Black wins by half a point."

Akira sighed. "That's what I thought as well. I thought that maybe…maybe white should resign."

Hikaru stared at the board for a long time, knowing Akira was watching him. Finally, Hikaru said, "Yeah. White can resign. White can still fight over here, but black will still win by half a point."

"Thank you, Shindou," Akira sighed. "I just needed to make sure that white could resign. No one would protest if white resigns, right?"

"I don't think anyone would," said Hikaru, wondering what Akira was getting to and why Akira was thanking him so many times.

"Shindou?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind making it so I could lie down again?"

"Sure."

A few minutes later, Akira was lying down again and Hikaru was sitting in front of the board.

Abruptly, thunder crashed all around them and the lights went out. Soft green light began illuminating the room from the hospital's back-up power source.

Akira broke the silence. "I said I had three goals and that I've achieved two."

Hikaru nodded.

"The third was to play the Divine Move."

Hikaru wasn't surprised. So he only nodded again.

"But I've decided something."

"What?" Hikaru asked.

"At first I was angry about this, this illness – at God, whoever dictated this, and at myself. I couldn't believe it, either. Then I began to dread everything – the doctors, the surgery, everything. But I also wanted anything that would grant me more time. But now, I've decided something," said Akira. He smiled a bit.

"Well, what?" said Hikaru.

"You and Sai…. You may play the Divine Move." Akira looked very peaceful, almost content, when he said this, and watching lightning flash across the sky outside his window with an ethereal sense of serenity.

"Touya…wait, Touya, what do you mean?" Hikaru said suddenly.

"I meant exactly what I said, Shindou. I only hope that I may be there to see that when it happens," said Akira, looking back at Hikaru, still smiling calmly.

"Touya…wait, Touya!"

"I would like it if you stayed a bit longer, if you could," Akira said quietly. "But I am so tired, Shindou…. So, I will have to see you play the Divine Move tomorrow. I'm sorry…but would you mind staying until I fell asleep?" Akira closed his eyes, not even waiting for Hikaru to answer.

Hikaru could only watch as Akira drifted off in the darkness of the room.

After a few minutes, one of the machines began beeping quietly.

It began to beep more insistently. Hikaru watched it for a few seconds, and then looked back to Touya.

But he could tell Touya was gone. He had gone to the place where Sai was. He, with Hikaru's reassurance that it was justified, had resigned and ended the game.

Hikaru took a shaky breath. Both Sai and Touya Akira, both of his friends, were gone.

But he did remember their words and their games, and someday, they would both be with him again.

And that would be many years later, when he, in the middle of the most important game he would ever play, saw Sai and Touya sitting beside him.

All three agreed on one point that would be the best to play.

Sai pointed with his fan, weeping, and Akira nodded his agreement, smiling as he had been the last time Hikaru had seen him.

Hikaru raised his hand high above the board, and felt Sai and Touya with him, as he placed the stone.

Together, through all their trials and, finally, their friendship, they had played what would be known from that moment on as the Divine Move.

おわり The end.

Author's Ending Notes: This is probably one of the most difficult, and, at the same times, one of the most simple things I've ever written. I've been thinking a lot about life lately, and how death plays a role in it, and how things sometimes aren't that fair. I think I will title this _You May Play the Divine Move_ because that is, in and of itself, the most important statement in this story.

This was meant to give me an outlet in order to think about these things, which I find one of the most challenging topics I've ever given thought to (along with metacognativity). I interspersed a tiny bit of humor (such as Kuwabara Hon'inbou...hee hee) in the hopes that everyone can find something good about someone's life, no matter how or when or why he or she dies. This has just been a good thing to let out. ありがとう(thank you).


End file.
